DoDEA Pacific “Mathletes” prepare for National MATHCOUNTS Competition

DoDEA Pacific in Social Media

The DoDEA Pacific Public Affairs Office initiates and manages DoDEA's communications and outreach efforts for the Pacific to include Guam, Japan, Okinawa, South Korea. The office is responsible for media relations, internal information programs and communication with students, parents, teachers, school administrators and the public.

OKINAWA, JAPAN — March 29, 2012 — Individual “Mathletes” Felipe Pazos from Seoul American Middle School and Jonas Knudsen from Osan Middle School earned the opportunity to compete on a national stage after finishing first and fourth respectively in the 2012 Department of Defense Dependents Schools MATHCOUNTS State Competition which concluded March 22.

Seoul American Middle School was crowned the DoDDS team champions and the Osan Middle School team finished sixth overall. The students and their teams from South Korea earned the right to compete against 14 schools from DoDEA Europe in the state competition after besting their middle school peers at DoD schools throughout the Pacific in local-level competitions held Feb. 8.

During the fast-paced, multi-round DoDDS State Competition, students were challenged by a variety of conceptual mathematics problems in algebra, geometry and discrete math.

The Seoul American Middle School team included captain Kylee Fitts and his fellow Mathletes Justin Calimlim, Felipe Pazos, and Gabriel Pelley. The team was sponsored and mentored by coaches Clarie Park and Sallie Yoon.

The Osan Middle School team was coached by Martha McIntyre who helped team captain Jonas Knudsen and his fellow classmates Leah Parks, Young Parks and alternate, Sarah Song prepare for the competition.

The top four individual student finishers from DoDDS move on together as a new team to attend the National MATHCOUNTS Competition at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla. May 10-13.

MATHCOUNTS is a national enrichment, coaching and competition program designed to inspire grade 6-8 students toward high achievement in mathematics.

SEOUL, South Korea – Felipe Pazos from Seoul American
Middle School is the 2012 DoDDS MATHCOUNTS Champion.
He will join three fellow DoDDS students to compete in the
National MATHCOUNTS Competition May 10-13 in Orlando, Fla.
(DoDEA Photo courtesy of Seoul American Middle School/Released)

SEOUL, South Korea – The MATHCOUNTS team at Seoul American Middle
School placed first in the 2012 DoDDS MATHCOUNTS State Competition.
(DoDEA Photo courtesy of Seoul American Middle School/Released)

Beginning each fall and continuing through much of the school year, teachers and volunteers sponsor dedicated practice activities outside regular math classes. The activities help students prepare for the rigors of competition by emphasizing math formulas, vocabulary development, and drills with fun and challenging math problems from the official MATHCOUNTS handbook.

Beyond boosting interest in math for middle school students, the practices and competitions help students sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

MATHCOUNTS was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. According to a MATHCOUNTS press release, more than 125,000 students representing over 7,000 schools register annually to participate in MATHCOUNTS programs. For more information on MATHCOUNTS visit: www.mathcounts.org

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea - The team at Osan Middle School
came in second place in the local MATHCOUNTS competition on
Feb. 8 and finished sixth in the 2012 DoDDS MATHCOUNTS State
Championship which concluded March 22. (DoDEA Photo courtesy
of Rita Bohn, DoDEA Pacific Instructional Systems Specialist
Gifted/Advanced Placement Programs/Released)

About DoDEA Pacific:
DoDEA Pacific provides a comprehensive preK-12 education to the children of military and eligible civilian personnel families serving throughout Asia. The 49 schools in DoDEA Pacific are comprised of more than 24,000 students and 3,100 full-time professional educators and support staff. The schools are geographically organized into four districts: Guam, Japan, Okinawa and South Korea.

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